getaway day for tens of millions for thanksgiving, why this year has been rough going for so many on the road and in the air. and rebuild or not, after hurricane sandy, some tough choices for devastated communities. and the best shot in the community, the kid who racked up more points last night than some pros score in a whole season. what is his secret? nightly news begins now. good evening, i'm kate snow, brian is off tonight, after days of bloody fighting, more than 150 dead and fears of a growing ground war, a cease-fire is brokered in part by secretary of state hillary clinton, and the new president of egypt, mohamed morsi.

the question now, is will it hold? will the people of the region get some peace? we have more on both sides of the conflict. we get more from our chief correspondent andrea mitchell, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, kate, the cease-fire was brokered under pressure from president obama, but wouldn't have happened without egypt's new islamic president, mohamed morsi, playing a key role. the cease-fire came after another night of punishing air strikes against gaza. and the first bus bombing in tel aviv in eight years. >> the united states welcomes the agreement today for a cease-fire in gaza, the rocket attacks must end to bring a broader, calm return. >> reporter: the agreement calls for israel to stop air strikes and hamas to stop rocket attacks. if that holds for 24 hours, they will talk about border contrs on gaza, and promise no more targeting of hamas leaders.

israeli ground troops are mobilized, if there are attacks >> now, i realize that there are citizens who expect a harder military action, and we may very well need to do that. but at the present, the right thing for the state of israel is to exhaust this possibility of reaching a long-term cease-fire. >> reporter: aides say president obama left a summit monday night to call on egypt's president morsi. he then took a call from morsi at 2:30 in the morning, calling again while flying home from cambodia monday night. and in separate calls to netanyahu, mr. obama pressured each to accept, while promising more money for iron dome and other missile defense programs clinton sealed the deal, next went to jerusalem and finally cairo. for final talks with egypt's leaders. nbc's jim maceda has more. >> reporter: morsi, the former

muslim brotherhood leader has boosted his credibility with u.s. and israel, and has become a politician to deal with in the arab world but it is one thing to broker a cease-fire, now he will have to enforce it and crack down on hamas and their weapons smuggling >> reporter: president obama who visited israel as a candidate four years ago but not since has to decide his next steps. >> the first thing he has to do is decide whether or not he is going to invest in the effort to resolve the israeli-palestinian conflict. i think at the moment it is a stain on his legacy. >> reporter: the u.s. officials are looking at what could be the birth of a new start with the less clear is how the u.s. will handle hamas, which is clearly empowered and now, how all of this is playing out in israel and gaza, nbc's veteran middle east correspondent martin fletcher is in tel aviv tonight. and our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel is in gaza city, let's begin with you, richard.

>> reporter: good evening, kate, israeli drones are still in the sky here, but for the first time no air strikes. and hamas is considering this a major victory, which it earned in blood. moments after the truce announcement, they came with flags, and drums and lots of guns, cheering death to israel, with a few deaths to americans mixed in. after a war hamas believes was its return to the world stage. people are coming out of their homes to join this spontaneous celebration. gaza has paid a heavy price, but here, they are convinced that hamas forced israel to accept the cease-fire. >> reporter: that price, more than 160 dead, health officials say, including 42 children. over 1200 injured, and dozens of buildings destroyed, many of them just hours before the cease-fire. >> this was israel's biggest target by far, the massive

government complex, where hamas distributed all social services to the gaza strip. >> reporter: as we filmed, a sense of what the people had to endure. and the israeli air strike, a big one, close, two explosions, then a third, sending people running for their lives. israel had just fired at the soccer stadium. so what, if anything, did hamas really gain from this? it proved, hamas officials say, it can fire rockets, about 100 a day into israel, farther than ever before, even while under attack. and hamas achieved recognition, not from the united states, but middle east countries as celebrations continued into the night, there are also doubts that the fighting will pause for long. do you think this cease-fire will last? >> no, no, no, i think a few days. >> reporter: a few days? cease-fires don't last long here, more fighting is usually a sure thing.

richard engel, nbc news, gaza. this is martin fletcher in tel aviv with a sense is there is nothing to celebrate. >> it is very difficult to trust a terrorist organization like hamas. >> reporter: the mood was not helped by tel aviv's first bomb attack in six years. noon, a man left a bomb here, 11 wounded, the terrorist ran away. the cease-fire capped a tough day of 130 rocket attacks, one smashing right through this house. >> it landed just about a moment ago. >> reporter: only two days ago another bomb smashed the window here. her mother was inside alone. >> she is okay? >> she is okay, yes. >> reporter: we found her at the neighbor's, here originally from baltimore. you had a narrow escape? >> i believe so. >> reporter: so invasion or a

cease-fire? >> i want quiet for them, and for me, the thought of our boys going in there and killing them doesn't make me feel good. they're also people. >> reporter: another concern? >> what happened to the dog? suddenly, another siren, a dash, sort of for the shelter. >> so scared. >> reporter: we thought let's try to help. >> let's go try to find the dog. baby, the name is baby. >> reporter: it didn't take long, where would a scared dog go? home. >> this is the lady's dog, i think we're going to make somebody pretty happy in a moment. >> reporter: and we did. got a friend for you. there you go. >> baby. >> reporter: consolation and hope tonight, no more sirens, no more rockets. however, right after the cease-fire began, the army says

that rockets were fired, no damages or injuries. israel's defense minister said tonight he does expect the agreement to be honored, but on past experience it could be shortlived. kate? >> martin fletcher tonight, in tel aviv, richard engel in gaza tonight, thank you to you both. here at home there is nothing happy for 15,000 employees of hostess, a judge approving the liquidating plan, and they were fired immediately. more from the federal courthouse in white plains, new york. >> reporter: kate, hostess brands will begin to close its doors for good, cutting 15,000 jobs today after a plan to shut down was approved by a new york bankruptcy judge. the maker of twinkies and wonder bread founded in 1930, will wind down in just three months, closing 500 bakeries and eliminates 90% of its work force. now hope remains that certain businesses of hostess will be sold.

the company said that 2 dozen buyers have emerged for plans to have a plant. the ceo said that they will sell everything but the kitchen sink, including extra inventory such as flour and chocolate, including the three thousand jobs that remain. after a long battle with the union, the hostess stores failed to reach a deal over wages with the unionized bakers, forcing a culture once worth over a billion to close. >> big news about a big name after an increasing bizarre saga. congressman jesse jackson jr. resigned today. two weeks ago he was re-elected despite disappearing from public view days earlier. we learned he was being treated for a disease, now, a cloud. there is a federal investigation.

here is nbc's kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: today, a once promising political career is officially over, with an end marked by spiraling legal troubles, jesse jr., the son of the famed civil rights leader, gave up his seat in congress after 17 years in a letter, he wrote in part, my health issues and treatment have become incompatible with service in the house of representatives. jackson has been in the hospital on and off since june for treatment of bipolar disorder, seen here while a patient at the mayo clinic. today, cook county officials are weighing options for a special election to replace jackson. >> and i think he feels that the district he represents, somebody should be there in a healthier condition than he is. >> reporter: but jackson makes striking admissions about his mistakes, talking to the justice department as they examine whether or not he used money to buy personal items, including an expensive watch.

jackson writes, i am doing my best to cooperate with the investigators and accept responsibility for my mistakes. for they are my mistakes, and mine alone. jackson writes, i pray i will be remembered for what i did right. jackson's lawyers say tonight that while he is cooperating it could take months to resolve the legal issues. so far, no charges have been filed. jackson says that his constituency deserves a full-time legislator, and it could take months before that happens. kelly o'donnell on capitol hill thank you, over at the white house, a thanksgiving tradition, a second chance for two turkeys, from a president who just got a second term. president obama just back from his trip to asia pardons the national thanksgiving turkey, cobbler, along with his sidekick, gobbler, the tradition of pardoning the turkey at the white house started with president kennedy in 1963. and the birds are now off to

live at george washington's estate, mt. vernon. >> still ahead as nightly news continues another annual tradition, the thanksgiving getaway. and today of after a break, we'll see how things are going tonight on one of the busier days on the road. and later, after the breaking point, some families wonder if it is worth it to keep fighting mother nature after hurricane sandy.

tradition that millions are part of the holiday getaway, and if you're among the crowds who took

a train, plane or automobile or if you're waiting for somebody on their way right now, you may know that this year has been slow going for a lot of people, nbc's ron mott has more on the massachusetts turnpike. >> reporter: hey, there, kate, good evening, pretty smooth sailing at this point. of course, tomorrow millions will gather around the thanksgiving table telling stories. and there are sure to be more than a few tales of woe as people recall just how tough it is to get there. in parts of america, getting a holiday move-on meant a lot of hurry up and wait. >> you try to brace yourself for how bad it is going to be >> you arrive, and it is overwhelming. >> it is crazy, but we want to go home. >> reporter: folks in the midwest woke up to whiteouts, no snow, just dense fog. >> it was so thick, just crazy. >> reporter: grounding or delaying at least 500 flights today in chicago alone. in fact, much of the upper midwest saw limited visibility,

and in the pacific northwest, nasty weather over the past 48 hours, with strong winds. and soaking rain >> it looks like the storms in the midwest will calm down, so for thanksgiving day just a few showers in the middle of the country. >> reporter: weather, though, was not the only problem for travel slowdowns, at l.a.x., hundreds of airport workers staged a protest over health care benefits, hurting traffic in and out of the terminals. and outside boston, traffic came to a halt on the massachusetts turnpike. a backup of headlights and tail lights, 40 miles long putting the brakes on early-goers. how busy are the highways? triple a says more than 40 million people will go out on the holidays, 90% hitting the road. nearly half of them today. air travel is down slightly, gas prices and hotel rates are about the same as last year. but the cost of rental cars has spiked 27%. that is, of course, if you can

find one. in the northeast, hurricane sandy wiped out a lot of inventory, forcing many people like this man to change their rental car plans quickly. >> i never thought i would leave la guardia to pick up a u-haul, who wants to show up to a family thanksgiving in a moving truck? >> reporter: well, as long as it is moving like the traffic tonight that is a good thing. now the rental company and the sour economy have caused a lot of people to get on the bus. some 600,000 people are expected to get on the bus, it is a trend we expect to see now until the end of the year. >> ron mott, safe travel. and today, the dow up 48 points, the nasdaq gaining just under 10 points. and the s&p 500 was a little more than three points higher on the day. up next, families facing tough decisions about the place they call home.

thousands of people in the

northeast will be spending this thanksgiving somewhere other than home because of hurricane sandy. and in one new jersey town, they're struggling with the question many in new orleans dealt with after katrina. should they go back home and rebuild at all? sayreville is at the intersection there and has been flooded over and over. nbc chief correspondent anne thompson has more on some residents who have had enough. webber avenue, they do a strange thing. taking away debris, but not the heartache of a neighborhood in ruins orange stickers declare 230 homes uninhabitable. including this one. >> it is like a death, a dead body, i have to look at it like we swam for our life. >> reporter: for the third time in three years, she and her neighbors deal with flood damage, the 2010 nor'easter, hurricane irene and then sandy. >> we didn't buy these houses saying oh, you know, it is a flood zone, who cares?

i researched the house, they didn't flood in 13 years, the research at the time showed the flood insurance affordable. >> reporter: they rebuilt two times. >> we came back in to rebuild. because it was our home. >> reporter: this time the numbers don't add up. >> it doesn't make economic sense to put more money into the loan and build our home when there is still no protection. >> reporter: they have talked about protection for 20 years. this is eight miles upstream from the atlantic ocean. yet the plans for levees and a storm surge barrier remain on the drawing board. so they want a buyout. >> they should give you fair value and just move. >> reporter: they say it is time to stop fighting mother nature. >> we wasted about $120 million trying to put this back the way it was, instead of recognizing that water will find its way. >> reporter: they say the

state's current buyout program is under-funded and still working on claims from last year's program. meanwhile, this teacher and mother of three, the reality of paying her mortgage and rent for where her family now lives has her at the breaking point. >> now the borough wants the property taxes, and i have to pay homeowner's insurance and flood insurance. >> reporter: and she is determined her family will never go through this again. anne thompson, nbc news. sayreville, new jersey. up next, he shoots, scores, over and over and over. the kid who didn't just break a record? he shattered it.

well, you can bet this will be a topic of conversation around a few thanksgiving dinner tables tomorrow. a 5'10" sophomore from iowa just re-wrote the ncaa basketball record books, scoring a huge 138 points in just one game. here is nbc's thanh truong. >> reporter: jack taylor's shots were not fancy, just frequent, in a 40-minute game, the sophomore point guard scored a

record ncaa record, 138 points. >> i can't really put it in words, i was just in a zone. >> reporter: taylor took one shot every 20 seconds, compare it to the late chamberlain, when he set the nba record of 100 points in 1962. >> i hit several in a row, i knew something was special. >> reporter: unlike the 7 foot chamberlain, taylor scored by mostly jump shots, over one, and sometimes three guys. there is some backlash about ball hogging, but the coaches are defending taylor. >> i'm trying to manage my team. i'm concerned about the opponent, i'm not here to embarrass anybody. >> reporter: the nba players praised the record-breaking performance. at pick-up games around the country, fans are in awe. >> that is crazy. >> i'm not sure, i can score that much in the video games. >> reporter: even in the video game world, 138 points are tough.

okay, so used larry bird, and scored 111 points. in four quarters for the record, the pioneers won the game 179-104. but you will have to forgive the people who remember only one number, and that is 138, nbc news, atlanta. thanh truong. and that is our broadcast on wednesday night. thank you for joining us, i'm kate snow in for brian. and we leave you with what is a great new york tradition, the giant balloons being inflated for tomorrow's macy's parade. you can see it in the air there, and of course right here on nbc tomorrow. and we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. have a great evening.

tonight an exclusive interview with the brother of the man accused of getting into a gunfight. also, workers protest black friday. we'll explain why. >> and the holiday travel rush in full swing right here in the bay area. good evening and thanks for joining us. i'm raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. i want to show you this. what you see is a manhole cover. what happened there, you can see from our chopper over 11th and howard in the soma district, the manhole cover went up in the air after an underground explosion. initially we heard someone may have been hurt